PHOTOGRAPHY TECHNIQUES >> LOW LIGHT
In 2015 I completed a 365 project, where by, you are to take a photo every single day of the year. I finished it and grew so much in photography and I was overjoyed but also a bit relieved when December 31st finally showed up. It was by no means easy and because of that I have always been kind of sceptical about committing to other projects. But this year I have joined in with a group of very talented photographers to practice a specific theme within photography each month. I can do this one, I can! I don't have to break my camera out every single day, at the very least only once a month (although the point is to grow, and learn how to use that specific technique, which would require more than just the one day, but it's a non-committal project which is what I'm trying to say), and I can already tell how immensely I will grow from playing along in just the one month. I mean heck, the first theme was low light and here I am smack bang in the middle of summer... so if I can over come this theme, I can overcome them all! (I hope haha).
I found it quite interesting how much the theme low light could be applied in so many different circumstances. Contrary to what you might think, it's not actually just about shooting in the dark or at night. For me as a natural light photographer, if I was only able to shoot in the dark, those images would be overly full of grain and I would struggle to recover it - I mean, I like grain and the authenticity that it adds to an image, but when I can, I do choose to keep my ISO on the lower end of the scale. For me, I started by shutting doors and curtains around the house. I always thought our house was fairly dark with flat and boring light, until I did this! I then started searching for where the light meets the shadows on the walls and floor. It was quite exciting for me to discover this, and to now have that confidence when I come into your home to take your family or newborn lifestyle photos and know that when I'm met with with plain and flat light that there is something I can do to enhance it again. Low light isn't just found indoors though, low light is when it is overcast, low light is at dusk, low light can be found in the shadows of the highlights, low light is your silhouette.
Below I am sharing some of my favourite images all relating to January's theme: Low Light. I also created a very short video which I would love for you to check out here - only 1 minute of your time if you haven't already. Trust me when I say shooting a still low light image is nothing like shooting a low light video, so I'm pretty happy with my results!
